How to Make a Hinged Porch Gate

Measure the distance between the posts on either side of the entryway to the porch. Plan your gate to be 3/4 inches less than the width of the opening to allow 3/8 inches between the gate and post on each side. Standard pickets are 36 inches long, so your gate will be 36 inches high.

Purchase enough standard wooden pickets to span the width of the gate with the same space between each picket and without having to use a partial picket. For example, if the gate width is 35 inches and you use pickets 3 inches wide, use nine pickets with an inch between each. If you want a gate shorter than 36 inches, saw the pickets to the desired height.

Saw a board, 2 by 4 inches, to a length of 36 inches. This is the stile that will be on the latch, or opening, side of the finished gate. Saw two wooden boards, 2 by 4 inches, as long as the gate width minus the width of one of the pickets. These are the frame rails.

Place the stile flat on your work surface. Place the two rails perpendicular to the stile six inches from each end. Nail the rails to the stile, angling, or toenailing, the nails near the end of each rail into the stile.

Place a metal connector plate so that it spans from the end of one rail to the stile. Screw the plate in place. Repeat for the other rail-stile joint. Then turn the frame over, and screw metal connector plates on the other side at the joints.

Screw a picket in the front side of the stile using at least two screws. The ends of the picket should be flush with the ends of the stile. Because it is flush with the stile, the picket will extend six inches beyond the top and bottom of the rails. Place one screw in line with each rail. If the pickets are very wide, use two evenly spaced screws at each rail. Avoid screwing into the metal plates.

Screw the rest of the pickets on the same side of the rails as the first one and parallel to it, which is also perpendicular to the rails. Line them up evenly with each other across the top and bottom. They will all extend six inches beyond the top and bottom of the rails. Leave the same amount of space between each picket. The last picket should line up evenly with the ends of the rails. Use one or two screws at each rail for each picket, depending on the width of the pickets.

Turn the gate over with the pickets facedown. Lay a 2-by-4 board diagonally across the rails. This board will become the brace. Position the uppermost end of the brace so its lower edge bisects the angle where the stile meets the top rail. Position the lower end so its top edge meets the end of the lower rail.

Mark opposite edges of both brace ends where they meet both rails. Connect these markings to create lines width-wise across the 4-inch face of the brace at a 45-degree angle to the board on both ends. Saw the brace at the lines to create a 45-degree angle on both ends. The brace should now fit snugly between the rails and span the width of the gate on a diagonal angle. Toenail the brace in place.

Prime and paint the gate to match your porch. Let the primer and paint dry thoroughly after each coat.

Screw one side of a hinge to the back of each rail on the end opposite the stile. Screw one side of a gate latch to the stile just below the top rail.

Place the gate between the porch posts, and use scrap wood to keep it raised two or three inches above the porch floor. Screw the other half of each hinge to the porch post. Screw the other half of the gate latch on the post opposite the gate latch on the stile.